Tanith Belbin White

Tanith Jessica Louise Belbin White (born July 11, 1984) is a Canadian American ice dancer and Olympic program host for NBC Sports.

Though born in Canada, she holds dual citizenship and has competed for the United States since she began skating with Benjamin Agosto in 1998.

In the 1999–2000 season, they won a pair of medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series and finished 4th at the JGP Final.

[13] At Nationals in 2005, the last year of the 6.0 system, Belbin / Agosto received straight perfect sixes for presentation in their free dance.

However, the mother of fellow American ice dancer David Mitchell sent a letter to Senator Hillary Clinton, asking her to vote against it.

[citation needed] Ultimately, by a special act of Congress sponsored by Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) that passed on December 28, 2005, which President George W. Bush signed on December 31, 2005, Belbin became a naturalized citizen, allowing her to compete for the United States at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Belbin / Agosto began the 2006–2007 season with a free dance called That's Entertainment but arrived at Nationals with a new program to the music of Amelie.

Belbin / Agosto were regular cast members of the Champions on Ice tour from 2004 until COI went out of business following the 2007 season.

[citation needed] In April 2008,[16] Belbin / Agosto left Igor Shpilband, who had coached them for their entire partnership, and began working with the married coaching team of Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov at the IceWorks Skating Complex in Aston, Pennsylvania.

[17] In addition to teaching different technique,[16] Linichuk advised Belbin to gain 10 pounds and develop some muscles in order to skate faster and more fluidly.

[17] Belbin / Agosto began the 2008–2009 season at the 2008 Skate America and 2008 Cup of China, winning silver at both competitions.

They withdrew from the 2008–2009 ISU Grand Prix Final after the original dance due to a back injury to Agosto.

Belbin / Agosto won both their Grand Prix events in the 2009–10 season: the 2009 Cup of China and the 2009 Skate America.

[23] Belbin has worked as a commentator for ice dance competitions on Universal Sports Network, the ABC show Skating with the Stars,[24] and for icenetwork.com.

[27] In 2022, Belbin opened the Michigan Ice Dance Academy with Charlie White and Greg Zuerlein.

Belbin and Agosto perform a straight-line lift during their Tosca free dance at the 2009 World Championships .
Belbin and Agosto (left) on the podium at the 2009 World Championships